Methods for Research in the Social Sciences - SIMM41

15 credits

This course aims at providing a comprehensive understanding of different and mixed methods approaches in the Social Sciences, as well as providing you with necessary skills required for their application.

About the course

Methods for Research in the Social Sciences aims at improving you skills in developing a research process. You will learn more about diverse research methods used in the social sciences as well as the necessary practical skills required for their application through developing a practical project in a group. Major emphasis is placed on the formulation of research questions, the research process and research design. How to ground your research question in current research is dealt with. In the course you will work with how you could use sources of available data or statistics, how to generate new data as well as how to interpret empirical information within a specific theoretical framework.

Qualitative and quantitative

As a student, you will also gain deeper understanding of the interrelationship between qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches in relation to their validity i.e. their capacity to provide understanding and/or answers to a specific research question. You will have the opportunity to be trained in preparing detailed schedules/structures for different types of interviews or questionnaires, developing subject consent procedures, using open coding schemes to develop a coding frame and identifying concepts in collected data as well as using statistical tools to assess collected empirical material.